


When Love Perishes

by SunriseAshes



Category: Vampire Academy Series - Richelle Mead
Genre: F/M, Rogue!Rose
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-11-21
Updated: 2010-11-21
Packaged: 2017-10-13 07:38:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/134710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SunriseAshes/pseuds/SunriseAshes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It took five years and a destroyed heart for Rose to get to this moment. She is no longer a child, growing up somewhere between falling in love with the wrong man and betraying her best friend. She lost herself along the way too, but that was a sacrifice she was all too willing to make. It's a matter of time before it all goes terribly wrong and it will start with the reappearance of a certain heartbreaker.</p>
            </blockquote>





	When Love Perishes

He stands alone in the distance, the wind whipping his hair back and away from his face. He's as still as a statue, eyes staring further down the rocky trail. I watch him, something swelling in my chest as I take in his tall frame. I haven't seen him in five years, ever since he left the Academy with Tasha Ozera. News of their first child had reached me somewhere along those years, but I hadn't really paid attention. I'd stopped caring when he left.

I stamp out the cigarette I was sucking on with the heel of my boot, snow spraying over my legs at the aggressive motion. I wasn't what they called a protocol guardian. Hell, I wasn't even a guardian at all. I had no promise mark. I was a loner. I had no integrity or at least that's the way my superiors had decided to label me when I'd told them to go screw themselves. I'd sold myself out.

I didn't give a damn what they thought. I loved being a freelancer. I loved the thrill of a kill, the adrenaline kick from hunting Strigoi instead of waiting around for an attack. I loved being able to lose control instead of holding onto restraint like he'd told me. I loved being different.

I move silently closer to my betrayer, watching him watch seemingly nothing. I know what's down there. I've been waiting for this day for months, and it just got a helluva lot better knowing that he's here too. My lips twitch up in a cocky smile as my eyes spot our shared target through the dim light.

"Belikov," I call out in a sing-song voice, gloved hands clasping around a stake at the same time. Stolen, if you're wondering, from way back when I was a rebellious teen and not a wanted outcast. "Belikov, Belikov," I repeat. He turns, dark eyes widening in surprise when he spots me. Good. For once I have astounded him. "Long time no see."

"Rose," he breaths. That single syllable rips through what little control I have over my temper. I smile, sweet and bitter all at the same time. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here for the same thing as you. Hunting down Tasha Ozera." That had been the last piece of news to reach me. She'd turned. Willingly.

His eyes narrow in anger, and I take pleasure in his rage, in his loss of restraint. "Why?"

"Because I can."

We stand and stare at each other for a long time. He hasn't changed much physically, maybe only gaining a few lines under his eyes, strain of children I'd guess. He still has his hair tied back in a ponytail, one that is gradually slipping out of place. He still wears a duster too, but I can't complain because my own coat trails the floor. It adds drama to a kill.

"Because you can," he repeats, slow like he can't quite believe my reasoning. I raise an eyebrow cooly, and stare him down. "Why would you go after Tasha?"

"It's nothing personal." It so is. "It's just my job."

"Your job?" My God, he's dumb tonight. Like I care. I'm here to trash his heart like he trashed mine all those years ago. A twinge of pain flickers deep inside my chest, and I catch my breath to quash it. "Aren't you Vasilisa's guardian?"

It seems that he's been keeping up with my life as much as I've been keeping up with his. I still find it hard to believe he hasn't heard news of my extreme dressing down, and his eyes tell me that he knows, but he wants to play a game. I'm willing to carry on, and I rock on my toes, eyes on his, attention down the mountain.

"We had different goals in life. We went our separate ways. I still write."

He snorts as if he can't quite accept my words or my attitude, I'm not sure which he's angrier at. Or maybe my appearance in his tragic love story is what's really angering him. I'm his Rosaline and I wasn't supposed to make another appearance in his story. I'm ruining the crux of this tale.

"What happened to you Rose?" he asks suddenly, and now I'm the one taking by surprise. I feel uncomfortable as his eyes scan me up and down. I want to tug at my ponytail, or pull my coat closer to my chest, anything to make me feel less naked in front of him. I feel like I'm seventeen again, and it hurts. "Why?"

"My future was taken away from me." My voice is cold. I can't help it. It's delved in too deep, seen too much, and I need to regain control of the situation. "I had to change to survive. I thought you'd understand that."

I sweep past him, my long coat trailing the floor, and he grabs my wrist. I twist, slamming my full weight against him so that we both hurtle towards the snow covered ground. He lets go of me to stop his fall, and I use that freedom to roll away from him. In all the commotion my stake has fallen away from me, and I know that the situation is getting crappier by the second. I was betting that Tasha the Strigoi had heard us.

The same thought must have occured to Dimitri at the same time. He looks up at me, panic in his eyes, and I strain to hear what has gotten his attention. A cold laugh, a cackle, in the distance. My heart pumps harder as I scan the ground for my stake. I see a glint in the distance and dive for it. A split second later, a thud comes from behind me as Tasha the Strigoi lands in our midst.

"Dimka. Rose."

I turn slowly, my hand still reaching for my stake as I check to see where the threat is. She stands before us, her black hair blowing back wildly in the wind. She looks the same-they always look the same-but her eyes are ringed in red. It stands out more clearly in the dark light and crisp air. She's wearing a dress, the one she bought me for Christmas all those years ago. The one I threw away out of spite. The material clings to her slim frame as she stands before us in perfect stillness.

"Tasha," Dimitri says, and I know he's been taken by the similarities between Tasha the Strigoi and Tasha the Moroi Whore. I haven't. My fingers have found the handle to my stake. I make a move.

She moves just as quickly and we collide somewhere in the middle of the clearing. The wind is knocked from my lungs and we tumble together down the mountain. Rocks and stones fly up and cut my face as we slide through the snow. We eventually came to a stop at the bottom, inches from a nasty drop.

"Rosie!" Tasha taunts, her voice forcibly cheerful. It sends chills down my spine as I check to see if I managed to hold onto my stake. My icy fingers are still gripping it tightly, and she sees too. "Naughty Rosie. I heard you ran away from Lissa. What sort of a guardian are you?"

Resentment powers through me as I remember that she's the reason my life screwed up royally. If she'd never come, Dimitri would never have left, I'd have never been alone, I could have dealt with anything, I would have tried harder. I wouldn't be here now. My legs spring me forward, pushing off the ground as Tasha dances out of my way, always just out of reach.

"I think turning Strigoi is a lot worse than changing your mind," I growl, my chest rising and falling in short bursts as I fight for more air. She's pirouetting on the spot, and my eyes follow her movements closely. "You chose to become an evil piece of scum."

"I think breaking a promise is worse than finding your calling. I never made anyone a promise that I would stand by them forever and protect them from evil. I never hurt a friend so close she could be my sister. I never betrayed anyone."

Her words leave me frozen, and she barrels towards me. The impact hurts, but even as I fly through the air I wonder about what hurt more; crashing into a tree or the truth of her words? A nasty crunch echoes around as my head splinters on the wood, snapping back as my neck stops it from flying too far. I crumple as I hit the ground, nearer to the edge then I want to be.

Tasha is above me, peering down. I never saw her move, she was too fast. I was too unprepared. Her fangs bite against her lip as all human traces disappear; she's cold and domineering and my heart tells me I'm about to die. She lowers her head, her fangs shining brightly in the night, but before she can bite, something hits her back.

She spins, surprised, and I drag myself away from the edge. From the corner of my eye I can see Dimitri, his face hard as stone as he stares down the love of his life. I'm not meant to be a part of this star-crossed tale. I'm just Rosaline. But I still watch, entranced. I still want in. I want to make Tasha the Strigoi pay for all her words, no matter how true they are. I want to be the one to shove the stake through her heart and end her pitiful existence.

"Dimka. You came for me."

She likes to talk, Tasha, and I use her distraction to clamber to my feet. I use the tree for support, my body screaming in protest as aches and pains kick in. I scan the floor for my stake-yet again-and find it. I move towards it like the walking dead, my eyes never moving.

"I promised you that I would."

"And you keep your promises, unlike Rosie."

It's in my hand once again, and I'm shuffling towards Tasha, lining her heart up with my mind. Dimitri moves forward at the same time, and a scuffle breaks out. When it ends, Dimitri is helpless in her arms.

"Too noisy Rosie. A human could have heard you coming."

Dimitri looks terrified, but not of death. Realisation dances within the reach of my hazy mind as I stare at him. Tasha's sharp nails are dangerously close to his jugular. I know she's going to kill him, and I know I don't want her to. I flex my fingers nervously.

"Let him go. You loved him once. You had a child with him."

Tasha snorts, and the sound she makes sounds wrong coming from an undead vampire. "Yeah, I did. But he never loved me. Oh, he loved what he could get from me, but his heart was never mine. It was always yours."

She sounds bitter, and I know she's not lying. Desperation plays on Dimitri's face, and that looks wrong too. It shouldn't be there. He should be calm and strong, not scared. Scared that I'm going to reject him. Scared that he's going to lose me again. Scared for the wrong reasons. Anger spikes at the back of my chest.

"No he didn't. He chose you. He made his bed."

His face crumples. Tasha looks gleeful. She has what she wants.

She moves her hand away from Dimitri slightly, lowering her head so that her lips are pressing against his skin. I see her tongue flick out and stroke his exposed vein.

And then she stills, shock spilling across her face.

I move back, Dimitri turning to twist the stake in a little deeper. I smile in satisfaction as she hits the floor.

"Was that quiet enough?" I ask. Her eyes stare at me accusingly, but I turn away. I have other matters to deal with.

Dimitri looks ashamed. He should. He caused this. But I don't feel hate or disappointment, just relief. Before I collapse in his arms, I stand my ground, feet deep in the snow as it begins to fall from the sky again. I ignore Tasha the Strigoi as she bleeds out. I ignore everything save him.

"Why?"

And as we stand there and stare at each other in surprise, relishing the closeness of each other, drinking it all in, I realise that maybe his love didn't perish for me. And maybe, just maybe, we can make this work. I hope so, as I step forward. I hope that we can take back all the hurt and build on something. God only knows I need something to build on.

And maybe-just maybe-I'm meant to be his Juliet, not his Rosaline.


End file.
